Kathy Rinaldi-Stunkel (born March 24, 1967) is an American former professional tennis player, who retired in September 1997. In her career she won three singles and two doubles titles on the WTA Tour, and reached the semifinals of the 1985 Wimbledon Championships.

Kathy Rinaldi-Stunkel
Country (sports) United States
ResidencePalm City, Florida
Born (1967-03-24) March 24, 1967 (age 57)
Stuart, Florida
Height1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)
Turned pro1980
RetiredSeptember 1997
PlaysRight-handed (two-handed backhand)
Prize money$1,353,737
Singles
Career record277–217
Career titles3 WTA, 0 ITF
Highest rankingNo. 7 (May 26, 1986)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open3R (1984)
French OpenQF (1981, 1986)
WimbledonSF (1985)
US Open4R (1982)
Doubles
Career record200–184
Career titles2 WTA, 2 ITF
Highest rankingNo. 13 (February 8, 1993)

Career

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Rinaldi reached her highest career ranking on May 26, 1986, when she was ranked world No. 7. The recipient of WTA Most Impressive Newcomer Award in 1981 and WTA Comeback Player of the Year Award in 1989, she had career wins over top players such as Steffi Graf, Jana Novotná, Sue Barker, Pam Shriver, Hana Mandlíková, Wendy Turnbull, Manuela Maleeva, Dianne Fromholtz, Helena Suková, Claudia Kohde-Kilsch, Zina Garrison, Sylvia Hanika, Kathy Jordan, Jo Durie, and Natasha Zvereva.

In 1981, Rinaldi became the youngest player to win a match at Wimbledon (14 years, 91 days), a record that stood until 1990. After the 1987 French Open, she suffered a freak injury in Monte Carlo, slipping on stairs, and in trying to catch herself, fracturing her right thumb. This injury sidelined her for the rest of the year. She was a member of the US Wightman Cup Team in 1983, 1985, and 1986.

Fed Cup

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In December 2016, Rinaldi was appointed as the captain of the United States Fed Cup team, succeeding Mary Joe Fernandez.[1][2] In her first year as Fed Cup captain, the U.S. won the 2017 Fed Cup.

Family

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Rinaldi married Brad Stunkel, her high school sweetheart, on December 11, 1993, and adopted his surname. She gave birth to a son, Bradley Benton Stunkel Jr., on February 8, 1995. The family currently resides in Palm City, Florida.

Awards and recognitions

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WTA career finals

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Singles: 7 (3–4)

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Legend
Grand Slam tournaments (0–0)
WTA Tour Championships (0–0)
Virginia Slims, Avon, other (3–4)
Finals by surface
Hard (2–1)
Grass (0–0)
Clay (0–2)
Carpet (1–1)
Result No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Win 1. Oct 1981 Kyoto Hard   Julie Harrington 6–1, 7–5
Loss 1. May 1982 Berlin Clay   Bettina Bunge 2–6, 2–6
Loss 2. Jul 1982 San Diego Hard   Tracy Austin 6–7(5–7), 3–6
Win 2. Aug 1985 Mahwah Hard   Steffi Graf 6–4, 3–6, 6–4
Loss 3. Sep 1985 Chicago Carpet (i)   Bonnie Gadusek 1–6, 3–6
Loss 4. May 1986 Houston Clay   Chris Evert-Lloyd 4–6, 6–2, 4–6
Win 3. Nov 1986 Little Rock Carpet (i)   Natasha Zvereva 6–4, 6–7(7–9), 6–0

Doubles: 12 (2–10)

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Legend
Grand Slam tournaments (0–0)
Tier I (0–2)
Tier II (1–2)
Tier III (1–3)
Tier IV (0–2)
Tier V (1–1)
Finals by surface
Hard (1–7)
Grass (0–0)
Clay (1–2)
Carpet (0–1)
Result No. Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 1. Mar 1991 San Antonio Hard   Jill Hetherington   Patty Fendick
  Monica Seles
6–7(2–7), 2–6
Win 1. Apr 1991 Houston Clay   Jill Hetherington   Patty Fendick
  Mary Joe Fernández
6–1, 2–6, 6–1
Win 2. Aug 1991 San Diego Hard   Jill Hetherington   Gigi Fernández
  Nathalie Tauziat
6–4, 3–6, 6–2
Loss 2. Oct 1991 Leipzig Carpet (i)   Jill Hetherington   Manon Bollegraf
  Isabelle Demongeot
4–6, 3–6
Loss 3. Feb 1992 Auckland Hard   Jill Hetherington   Rosalyn Fairbank
  Raffaella Reggi
6–1, 1–6, 5–7
Loss 4. Mar 1992 Indian Wells Hard   Jill Hetherington   Claudia Kohde-Kilsch
  Stephanie Rehe
3–6, 3–6
Loss 5. Mar 1992 Key Biscayne Hard   Jill Hetherington   Larisa Neiland
  Arantxa Sánchez Vicario
5–7, 7–5, 3–6
Loss 6. Apr 1992 Houston Clay   Jill Hetherington   Patty Fendick
  Gigi Fernández
5–7, 4–6
Loss 7. Nov 1992 San Juan Hard   Gigi Fernández   Amanda Coetzer
  Elna Reinach
2–6, 6–4, 2–6
Loss 8. Feb 1993 Auckland Hard   Jill Hetherington   Isabelle Demongeot
  Elna Reinach
2–6, 4–6
Loss 9. Mar 1993 Key Biscayne Hard   Jill Hetherington   Larisa Neiland
  Jana Novotná
2–6, 5–7
Loss 10. May 1993 Strasbourg Clay   Jill Hetherington   Shaun Stafford
  Andrea Temesvári
7–6(7–5), 3–6, 4–6

Grand Slam singles performance timeline

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Key
W  F  SF QF #R RR Q# DNQ A NH
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.
Tournament 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 Career W–L
Australian Open A A 1R 3R A NH A A A 2R 1R A 1R 1R A A 3–6
French Open QF 4R 4R 3R 3R QF 3R 1R 2R 1R 2R 1R 3R A A A 24–13
Wimbledon 2R 3R 4R 1R SF 1R A A 1R 1R 1R 2R 2R A A 1R 13–12
US Open 1R 4R 2R 2R 1R 1R A 1R 2R 2R 2R 2R 1R A 1R 1R 9–14
Win–loss 5–3 8–3 7–4 5–4 7–3 4–3 2–1 0–2 2–3 2–4 2–4 2–3 3–4 0–1 0–1 0–2 49–45
Year-end ranking 33 15 14 23 11 8 26 88 52 69 105 111 83 NR NR 225

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Ashley Marshall (December 8, 2016). "Rinaldi to lead U.S. Fed Cup team in expanded captaincy role". www.usta.com. United States Tennis Association (USTA).
  2. ^ Sandra Harwitt (December 9, 2016). "Rinaldi appointed USA Fed Cup captain". www.fedcup.com. International Tennis Federation (ITF).
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Awards and achievements
Preceded by WTA Most Impressive Newcomer of the Year
1981
Succeeded by
Preceded by WTA Comeback of the Year
1989
Succeeded by